Menopause
The Menopause is not optional,
how much you suffer with the symptoms can be
Get Started
and begin to actively control your menopause Symptoms
Book a 30 min Consultation FREE for Bespoke Hypnotherapy for Menopause Symptoms
either face to face in Gloucester, UK
or from your own home, anywhere in the world online - add anchor to below button when page finished
The Menopause Journey
Consists of 3 stages and lasts on average 7 years, but can be as long as 14 years in UK (differs culturally)
Stage 1: Perimenopause ('Peri' meaning 'near')
This usually begins after 40 years old (on average 45 - 55 in UK) and can last up to 10 years.
Your periods will be irregular, very light, or very heavy, or have stopped in last 6 months
This is when menopause symptoms usually start; (create link to below) hot flushes, anxiety, sleep issues, and more (see below) and can really effect your life, both at home and at work.
Your ovaries are beginning the process of fluctuating the amount of oestrogen & progesterone (hormones) that they produce, whilst testosterone is reducing due to ageing (begins around 40), and you are still fertile.
Stage 2: Menopause
Lliteraly means 'the last menstrual period', and so is actually describing a ‘moment in time’, although it is generally used to describe the whole Menopause Journey and the end of your fertility. Medically, it is when your periods have stopped for 12 months.
Normally occurs around your late 40s, early 50s, with average age 51 in UK.
Your symptoms can sometimes improve, or persist for up to 10 years or more after your last period.
Your ovaries have stopped releasing eggs, and the production of the female hormones oestrogen & progesterone in the ovaries reduces gradually to a very low level.
NB: Testosterone will have slowly reduced, and be at its lowest level by around age 40 in women and is produced by ovaries and adrenal glands. If your ovaries have been surgically removed, then this can cause a sudden and dramatic dip in testosterone.
Stage 3: Post-Menopause
The years after menopause, so more than 12 months after periods have stopped (or if your ovaries have been surgically removed this is where the menopause journey begins).
Lesser amounts of oestrogen are still produced by the adrenal glands, and even fat cells (this is thought to be why you put on weight).
Early Menopause, Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI), Surgically Induced Menopause
For some, the menopause journey begins earlier.
Premature Menopause: your periods stop before age of 40 and you are no longer fertile.
Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI): you are under 40 and your periods have stopped or you still get the occasional period. However, the ovaries have stopped working normally, and you could still be fertile .
Early Menopause: you are between 40 & 45 years of age and your periods become irregular or stop.
Surgically Induced Menopause: Following surgery, where your ovaries have been removed, or you have undergone certain cancer treatments, you will be plunged into sudden menopause.
The symptoms of each can be the same as for natural Menopause, and may be even more of a shock.
Menopause Symptoms
Around 75% of women in UK will experience menopause symptoms, at any of the 3 stages
Most Common Symptoms
Hot flushes
Night sweats
Headaches
Joint aches
Irregular/heavy/light periods (stage 1)
Painful periods
Anxiety
Stress
Mood swings
Irritability
Low mood
Loss of confidence
Sleep issues/insomnia
Weight gain
Fatigue
Memory issues
Forgetting words, people's names
Brain fog
Loss of sex drive
Weaker orgasms
Vaginal dryness
Osteoporosis (brittle bones)
Other Symptoms
Grief for lost youth and/or fertility
Depression
Whiskers on face and/or neck
Dizziness
Hair loss
Heart palpitations
Bloated stomach
Incontinence
Hair loss
Itching
Nausea
The scientific research confirms that Hypnotherapy is effective for
reducing Menopause Symptoms
National Library of Medicine
Clinical hypnosis in the treatment of postmenopausal hot flashes: a randomized controlled trial
Compared with structured-attention control, clinical hypnosis results in significant reductions in self-reported and physiologically measured hot flashes and hot flash scores in postmenopausal women.
National Library of Medicine
The 2023 nonhormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society
An advisory panel of clinicians & research experts in women's health evaluated the research papers and recommended Hypnotherapy ('clinical hypnosis') as an evidence based natural alternative to HRT
How I can Help You
I can help you naturally reduce your menopause symptoms right from the very first session...
Bespoke Hypnotherapy for Menopause Symptoms
(BHMS)
The natural way to take back control of your mind and body
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Free 30 minute consultation where we can get to know each other a little,
and for you to decide if this is right for you.
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Bespoke to 1 sessions, designed especially for you; around your symptoms, symptom triggers, your life experiences, values, desired outcomes and aspirations.
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The amount of sessions required is totally unique to you. We will discuss your progress at each session and adapt accordingly.
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Either face to face in my lovely Therapy Room in Gloucester, UK, or online in your own home.
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Each bespoke session is ideally 90 minutes in duration, and one to two weeks apart (flexible).
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A Take-Away Mindful Hypnotherapy track, written and recorded by me, especially for you, to embed the work we do in our sessions.
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Fees: £110 per 90 mins session (Hypnotherapy is covered by some Private Healthcare Providers)(or put this in fees section only??)
What You Will Gain
Each session is bespoke, and directed by your uniqueness, this is just to give you
some ideas of what is possible with this programme...
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Less hot flushes
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Creatively manage hot flushes
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Less stress/anxiety/panic
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More sleep
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More energy
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Ease depression/sadness
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Improve general mood
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Increase focus & concentration
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Relieve grief
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Weight loss
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Heal past emotional pain
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Stop Smoking
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Feel more able to cope with the normal demands and ups & downs of life
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Feel more like yourself again
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Ultimately more in control of your body & mind
Getting to know me a little:
My working background is in devising abuse prevention and recovery programmes, education, business, therapeutic mindfulness and teaching meditation. Although my fascination with the mind lead me to study Psychology and Sociology at SouthBank University London, as a mature student. Whilst in the last decade Neuroscience, Mindfulness and Hypnotherapy have been my absolute passion and focus.
Now in my late 50s, as well as navigating through the menopause,
I have overcome the past pain of abusive relationships, fears, smoking, food issues, anxiety, and bereavements, & had the greatest pleasure to bring up two amazing sons, and now be in a wonderful, healthy relationship.
This has given me great insight and understanding of the mind,
Gez Bray, Hypnotherapist & Menopause Specialist BSc Psych & Soc (Hons), DHP Acc.Hyp, GQHP
Professional Standards Authority Registered Hypnotherapist
suffering, recovery & happiness. Especially how we can become stuck in cycles of suffering, often thinking it’s just normal, or beyond help; whilst the road to recovery can be accessed if we just reach out with an open mind and a commitment to change. I do believe my life experiences have helped me to be a better, more empathetic therapist, and woman, with the deepest respect for you, and whatever you bring into the room.
My Menopause Journey
The symptoms of the menopause gave me a real shock, I just didn't understand what was happening to me! I actually thought back then that it was something that happened to old ladies, and not to a young, (optimistic) woman like me in her 40s. I was left feeling like someone had taken my personality away in the night and replaced it with a tearful, fearful, moody version of myself that I had never met before, and I was scared.
And, at first, I actually thought I was mentally ill or something, and googled early onset Alzheimer’s on several occasions. It just felt so wrong and scary; you know that feeling where you have known someone for years, and they are standing right next to you, but you just can’t think of their name?! It feels like there’s just a blank space in your mind where their name used to live...and information, and memories from my past just felt irretrievable, I had been focussed on my own personal development for years, and now I felt out of control, and I was worried!
And not only the psychological symptoms were freaking me out, there was also the most common symptom of them all, the pesky hot flushes; they really plagued me, especially at night...oh, the sleep loss! And that’s to say nothing of the whiskers (oh wow, another shock!).
I went to the doctors and was basically sent packing with, "You are not menopausal, you are too young, you could be in perimenopause, come back in a few years time". I went a second time and had a slightly better experience, but HRT seemed to be the only help available, and I just didn't want to go down that road (although totally respect those that do).
So, I tried all kinds of natural remedies, and coupled with my daily meditation practice, this did help to a degree, but it just wasn't enough.
My Big Discovery
I had noticed many years ago that stress in the moment seemed to bring on my hot flushes. If I felt embarrassed or ashamed, or anxious about something, I would get a hot flush.
Also, many of my clients are 40+ women & I was noticing that as past trauma was resolved, so the women were also reporting that their menopause symptoms were reducing. And that was not all...
As I delved deeper into why some women have no menopause symptoms, and others suffer greatly, I discovered a body of scientific research that really blew me away: I discovered that there is a body of scientific evidence that shows that not only current, but also past trauma adversely effects the menopause experience.
Coupled with the strong evidence from scientific research that Hypnotherapy is very effective at reducing menopause symptoms, including significant reduction in hot flushes, and the emotional symptoms such as mood swings, anxiety, low mood, memory loss, concentration, confidence and sleep, I became excited at the prospect of being able to really help women live more fully & freely in this very natural and effective way. (as above - put in anchor when finished page)
In short, this is how it has become my mission to offer this bespoke service to women, understanding that each of our menopause journeys is very personal, and respecting the very unique life experiences of each of us is so important to me and the way I work. My passion to improve the lives of all of us navigating this journey, with a natural and scientifically proven, and bespoke approach, is how the Bespoke Hypnotherapy for Menopause Symptoms (BHMS) came into being.
Training
Psychology & Sociology BSc (Hons)
Southbank University, London
Compassionate Ericksonian Practitioner Diploma in Hypnotherapy & Counselling
British Hypnosis Research & Training Institute
Personally trained by the renowned Stephen Brooks
Accredited by The General Hypnotherapy Standards Council and Complimentary & National Health Care Council
Approved as an Accredited Register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care to meet UK-wide standards of patient safety and service quality
BLAST Technique Practitioner® (Eye Movement Amygdala Desensitisation Therapy, an evolved form of EMDR) EMDR emdr
Trained by the creator, International Hypnotherapist, Nick Davies
Therapeutic Mindfulness Practitioner & Meditation Practitioner
UK College of Mindfulness , Birmingham.
Accredited by the British Psychological Society
Available for Face to Face appointments in Quedgeley, Gloucester, UK
and Worldwide via Microsoft Teams
Booking Form/More Information
Therapy Room
Bray Hypnotherapy
18 Griffon Close, Quedgeley, Gloucester, GL2 4NQ
Tel/Text: 07940 498 345
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